Handicapping

(Sports.) A term used in various games and sports to denote the placing of competitors on such a footing that all shall have, as nearly as po ible, an equal chance of winning. Thus, in horse-racing, when the speed of one horse has been ascertained to be greatly superior to that of another, the swifter of the two, in a handicap race, is made to carry extra weight to an amount that shall be deemed sufficient to reduce its speed to a level with that of its antagonist. Where the public performances of a horse have been exceptionally good, and when both speed and endurance are found to be of an unusually high character, the penalty inflicted in all future handicaps is very great, amounting sometimes to a weight many pounds above that of very inferior competitors. Though principally pertaining to horse-racing, handicapping is resorted in many other sports. In games such as che and draughts, certain "men" are allowed to the inferior player; in billiards, the better of two allows his antagonist a certain number of "points," so as to equalize or handicap their respective games; at cricket, an eleven especially expert will sometimes play against twenty-two others, the competition being at times very close. In swimming and in pedestrianism, the inferior competitors are allowed a certain start; in yachting, the ve el of greater tonnage is handicapped with le er ones, by allowing them extra time for the performance of the race. For instance, a fifty and thirty-ton yacht start for a race, the former allowing the latter, say, five minutes. They start together, and the heavier yacht reaches home, say, three minutes ahead of the lighter; in that case, the lighter yacht's handicap of five minutes gives her the race by two minutes, though she was last to reach home. The principle of handicapping is the same, whether applied to field sports or home amusements; it is the art of endeavoring to equalize, by certain penalties, the good, the bad, and indifferent. Handsʼborough, in Mi i ippi, a post-township of Harrison co., 1 m. W. of Mi i ippi City, and 3 m. from the Gulf of Mexico; has several lumber mills. Pop. (1890) 1,021.